Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1887-06-22
A SCULPTOR'S HUMOa.
Some Hitherto Unpublished Anecdotes {
the Early Career OF Hiram Powers.

Some Hitherto Unpublished Anecdotes Of
the Early Career OF Hiram Powers
James II. Beard, the artist, recently
told a New York 1roUss writer some
anecdotes of the early career Of Hiram
Powers, the sculptor, which go to shaw
that he was full Of grim humor. When
Powers went to Cincinnati he was en-
gagged in making wax figures for a mu-
scum owned by man named Dorfield-
The figures which he moulded were. deli
cate and beautiful beyond any thing that
was known at that time. His ingenuity
In mechanics was remarkable, and M.
Beard thinks that he would have made as
great a success in mechanic arts as he did
in sculpture il he had devoted his atten-
tion to the former. There was a popular
comic singer in Powers day at Cincinnati
named Alexander Drake. Powers mod
eled a wax head of Drake and fashioned q
figure to match the head. ,o-,-
One Of brakes songs, which was in
great demand with audiences, was called
Love and Sausage" Powers took his
WAX figure to the theater and placed il on
the stage in brakes favorite attitude,
and when the curtain rose for Brakes
song, there stood before the audience two
Alexander brakes. both perfectly natural.
The people were astonishod- They gazcd
and gazed in wondcrment until the cur.
tain went down and rose again on q single
Drake. 1t was the wax figure, but so
like the singer that the audience cried
and shouted and stamped for "Love and
Sausages. The figure was silent and
the curtain went down without any re-
spouse being made to their calls. 1t rose
again, and there still was q single Drake
confronting them. This time the audience
remained undemonstrative, not knowing
what to expect. 1t was the true Drake,
4 -
Sausages" the mystery was intensified.
For about three days the people talked of
this double Alexander Drake, and then
the secret got out that it was one of Pow
ers' freaks.
At another ii me Powers was at work on
a wax bust of Thomas Jefferson. There
was a critic in Cincinnati in those days
named Simms, who had incurred the dis
pleasure of Powers and others. He was
told one evening that the bust was COM
pleted, and was asked TO inspect il. II
was in tho days whom the only light was
from tallow candles, and as the room was
dark he was given a candle with which to
make close inspection OF tho bust He
began to comment upon its unnatural ap-
pearance, declaring that the color Of tho
flesh was not natural and so on. As he
leaned dewn for closer inspection the
burning candle was brought close to the
figure, which suddenly lodged back,
winkcd its eye and shouted: "Don't burn
me-" 1t was Powers himself Simms was
in terrible rage, and when the story was
told some time afterward In o paper
| owned by man named Thomas, he was
| going to castigate the editor. Simms al
ways denied tho story, but Powers told it
with great gusto.
A favori;e trick Of the artist, which he
often performed In the museum and in
public places, was made possible by the
long cloaks which it was the custom to
wear in those days Any ono who had
seen the figures in q circus which are
short and squat one moment and appar-
emily ten feet high the next will under
stand the nature Of the Joke. Powers
would gather his cloak up in his hands
ana make himself apparently about three
feet in height, and as he passed around
the museum he would gradually become
taller and taller, until at last, taking the
collar Of his cloak and the rim of his hat
In his hands, he would shove them far
above his head and make himself appear
very tall All the time he would go peer
ing around at the sights, while most Of
the people were watching him as the big
gest curiosity of all.